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Shift to Park, dealership can't figure out what's wrong.

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Brawders

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
I've posted here before and I hope anyone can help. Every few days my car will lose the accelerator pedal and a message pops up to "shift to park". No codes and the check engine light doesn't pop up, also the throttle body and battery are brand new.

Dealership has had it for about a week now and telling my they don't know what's wrong unless they can replicate the problem.
 
#4 ·
I would be suspect of the throttle body that got changed, if it could have anything to do with that message, of course. Why did you replace it?
 
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#6 ·
It sounds like that was a shot in the dark. You might need to disassemble the transmission select knob assembly and inspect it for spilled drinks or then maybe replace it. Some have had similar issues or AWD warnings that sometimes lead to the shifter knob and it's inner workings.
 
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Discussion starter · #7 ·
Tin Foil Hat said:
It sounds like that was a shot in the dark. You might need to disassemble the transmission select knob assembly and inspect it for spilled drinks or then maybe replace it. Some have had similar issues or AWD warnings that sometimes lead to the shifter knob and it's inner workings.
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It sounded reasonable at the time haha. I don’t understand how a spilled drink or something with the shifter knob would cause the accelerator to stop working until I shifted it to park.
 
#8 ·
Brawders said:
I've posted here before and I hope anyone can help. Every few days my car will lose the accelerator pedal and a message pops up to "shift to park". No codes and the check engine light doesn't pop up, also the throttle body and battery are brand new.

Dealership has had it for about a week now and telling my they don't know what's wrong unless they can replicate the problem.
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It would be helpful to know something about your vehicle.

What year, model, engine, how many miles, have you owned it since new or bought it used, any mods?
When did the issue start, or has it always done this?
 
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Discussion starter · #9 ·
stoopalini said:
It would be helpful to know something about your vehicle.

What year, model, engine, how many miles, have you owned it since new or bought it used, any mods?
When did the issue start, or has it always done this?
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Yeah for sure:
2015 Durango SXT
120,000 miles
No mods, just typical maintenance.
This issue started after I blew the radiator and the car kept overheating. I did get a ‘check ETC’ message so that’s part of the reason I changed the throttle body.
 
#10 ·
ahh, that's helpful.

Brawders said:
I did get a ‘check ETC’ message so that’s part of the reason I changed the throttle body.
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Was it "Check ECT" instead of ETC?

ECT = Engine Coolant Temperature.

Has the coolant temp sensor been replaced yet? If it's bad and reading strange numbers, it can cause odd behavior with no check engine light.
 
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Discussion starter · #11 ·
stoopalini said:
ahh, that's helpful.



Was it "Check ECT" instead of ETC?

ECT = Engine Coolant Temperature.

Has the coolant temp sensor been replaced yet? If it's bad and reading strange numbers, it can cause odd behavior with no check engine light.
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Yes it was the ETC. I shortly after all that drove it and actually had to have the oil cooler replaced because I drove a little far on it.
 
#12 ·
Brawders said:
Yes it was the ETC. I shortly after all that drove it and actually had to have the oil cooler replaced because I drove a little far on it.
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Ok, so if the throttle body has been replaced already ... did you get the ETC message again afterward? Even if just once or twice?

When the radiator blew, did it spray coolant all over the engine bay? If so, do you know how it was cleaned up? Hopefully no one pressure washed the engine bay.

You could have an issue with the wire harness pigtail which connects to the throttle body.
 
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Discussion starter · #13 ·
stoopalini said:
Ok, so if the throttle body has been replaced already ... did you get the ETC message again afterward? Even if just once or twice?

When the radiator blew, did it spray coolant all over the engine bay? If so, do you know how it was cleaned up? Hopefully no one pressure washed the engine bay.

You could have an issue with the wire harness pigtail which connects to the throttle body.
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I did not get the ETC message again after replacing it no. After the radiator blew I took a gallon of water and emptied it into the engine bay to get what I could off.
 
#14 ·
I would start looking closely at the wiring harness, especially where the connector for the throttle body is attached.

If you can monitor the throttle position sensor values with a scanner in real time, watch them and wiggle the pigtail while the engine is running. See if you get any fluctuation in the readings when wiggling the harness.

Water on a modern engine can be disastrous. I sold our 2012 Durango Crew to my brother when we bough the 2016 R/T back in 2016. The only issue I ever had with the 2012 was a fuel pump relay, and it was fixed under a recall. I sold it to him with 70k trouble free miles. He took it to a dealer who spilled steering fluid all over the engine bay, and to clean it up, they pressure washed it. From that moment on, the vehicle had all sorts of electrical issues. The dealer eventually had to run new wires to bypass sections of the harness ... it was a complete mess and still wasn't reliable even after the new wires were put in.

So anytime I hear about electrical issues triggered by water under the hood, it makes me suspect of some connector being damaged ... or some module having water damage or corrosion. These types of issues are very difficult to trace down to their root cause.

You need an experienced tech who knows how to use a scanner, and knows how to troubleshoot intermittent electrical issues. If the dealer you have the vehicle at now doesn't have someone with this sort of skill set, you might be best suited to try another dealer. Or ... call around to various service departments and explain what happened ... ask if they have a tech on staff who excels at these sorts of things. They will most likely be honest with you up front, as they'll know these things are hard to track down. If they don't have a skilled guy on staff, they probably won't want to mess with it.
 
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#15 ·
Hello @Brawders

Please private message us with details of your concerns. Our team would like to see what we can do to help rectify this matter.

Gia
Dodge Cares
Brawders said:
I've posted here before and I hope anyone can help. Every few days my car will lose the accelerator pedal and a message pops up to "shift to park". No codes and the check engine light doesn't pop up, also the throttle body and battery are brand new.

Dealership has had it for about a week now and telling my they don't know what's wrong unless they can replicate the problem.
Click to expand...
 
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#17 ·
Brawders said:
Fixed!

Ok so drumroll..... it was the crankshaft position sensor.
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Thanks for checking back in and letting us know what fixed it.

Glad you got a tech who was able to track it down to the faulty sensor.
 
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